If you love midcentury modern design, but think that the craze for the classics has outpriced you, CB2 has stepped in with a reissued collection of greatest hits by American furniture design master Paul McCobb.
McCobb (1917-1969) added a cool factor to American design with sexy furniture and lighting designs based on slender lines, graphic shapes and purity of materials that continue to resonate today. McCobb quickly established himself as one of the biggest names in midcentury modern design with his work landing in design-forward homes of the ’50s and ’60s and some of the foremost museums today.
Prices for vintage McCobb pieces have climbed in recent years and regularly sell for thousands at auction. Earlier this year, a pair of vintage nightstands estimated at $2,000 to $3,000 sold for $13,750 at the Wright auction house in Chicago. Now, McCobb’s timeless designs are being produced again for the first time in half a century in a partnership with CB2, making them available to a wider audience.
“A McCobb piece invites today’s consumer to rethink the modern iteration of midcentury, which has been somewhat diluted over the decades,” said Ryan Turf, President of CB2. “It’s easy to forget how avant-garde the aesthetic was for that moment — how groundbreaking it was to strip profiles down to their essence and focus on proportions and materials. McCobb revealed the sensuousness inherent in paring back and editing down to form and line.”
Highlights in the collection are the Pavilion group of outdoor furniture that’s been updated with Sunbrella fabric for durability, the sculptural lamps from the Exposior collection and the ebonized oak Connoisseur group of dressers.
“McCobb’s designs are just as influential today as when they graced the first set of The Today Show or the offices of Columbia Records in the 1960s,” said Turf. “The pieces truly elevate everything else around them and only get better with age.”
Paul McCobb is the first of several iconic designers CB2 will spotlight throughout the next two years making the covetable, modern style at accessible prices.
